With resolve, I turned my attention back to Apsley. “Let’s go find your sister.”
BythetimeApsleyand I reached Kenwick, the sky had darkened as dusk approached. The rain had not let up our entire ride, and the two of us were soaked through. While the last hints of summer were present in the green foliage surrounding us, the rain carried an icy chill that seeped into my bones.
Heaven forbid Annette was outside in this.
We galloped into the courtyard and were met by the butler and several servants. Jack Apsley joined the ranks, as did Lady Paxton. Their solemn expressions filled me with dread.
Apsley dismounted and took to his mother’s side. “Have they found her?”
She shook her head, her fluttering lashes dripping with rain and, likely, tears. “She’s still missing. Oh, Rus. What if…what if…”
She sobbed, and Apsley pulled her into an embrace. He whispered what I assumed to be words of comfort, although nothing in his own expression displayed confidence that the situation would face a positive resolution.
I turned, making my address to one of the footmen. “What part of the grounds have been searched?”
The man winced. “All of it, sir.”
“Is it possible she hunkered down somewhere to wait out the storm?”
The footman turned pensive for a moment. “She could have, but surely she would have responded to us shouting her name were that the case.”
“Were all the buildings searched?”
“The orangery and The Towers were searched thoroughly. We even checked the gatehouse and garden shed. Her horse is still in the stables, so she was not out riding.”
My mind raced. “What of her friend? A Mrs. Wilcot, I believe. Did anyone think to check there?”
“I went personally,” said Apsley, releasing his mother. “Margaret has not seen her today.”
Blast. Lightning shifted beneath me, sensing my frustration. “And the ruins? During my stay, Annette frequented them. She told me herself it was her favorite place to think.”
“Checked them as best we were able, sir,” said the footman.
“Best you were able? What do you mean?”
“Just that, sir. Seems part of the ruins collapsed due to the weather. Didn’t feel it was safe to comb them over completely. We called for her but never heard a sound.”
My gaze darted to Apsley, and he seemed to share the same thought I did. If Annette had been there when the ruins collapsed…
I clicked my tongue and spurred Lightning into motion. Behind me, Apsley shouted instructions to the servants. I could only assume he would follow my lead, but there was no time to wait for him. Racing out of the courtyard and following the path leading behind the house, my pulse thrummed with anxious energy.
How many times had Annette gone to the ruins alone while I was staying here? Likely dozens, and if ever there was a time she needed space to collect her thoughts, it was today. The ruins were a place of comfort to her, but even Annette had acknowledged that comfort did not imply safety.
My heart pounded in my ears, drowning the sound of Lightning’s heavy stomps on the mud-ridden path. We sped through the arched gate of The Towers, and the ruins came into view, the crumbling walls foreboding, nestled as they were against the backdrop of a darkening sky. Lightning climbed the shallow incline leading into the dilapidated structure. I yanked on the reins, pulling him to a stop just outside it. In one sharp movement, I dismounted and hastily tethered him to the nearest tree.
Hoofbeats sounded in the distance, but I raced inside the ruins. Apsley would catch up. With both of us—or perhaps several if he brought some of the servants along—we could survey the building much faster. We would find her.
I refused to believe otherwise.
“Annette!” I called, weaving my way between the damp walls. I had been here before, but with night fast approaching and no sunlight to guide me, there was no familiarity to be had as I wandered the labyrinth of broken bulwarks and crumbling interior passages.
An image of a bench and a large open room flashed in my mind.This is my favorite spot in the ruins.
I rounded a corner only to find a dead end. My next attempt proved just as much a failure, and I swore under my breath, cursing the maze I found myself in. Where had that blasted space been?
Breathing heavily, I jogged along a narrow corridor, the walls tall enough to prevent me from seeing over them. Voices echoed from elsewhere in the ruins, calling Annette’s name. I turned another corner, this time coming face to face with a pile of stone. The fragments were jagged and rough, indicative that the pieces had recently fallen from the ceiling above. I climbed over them to the small hole near the top and peered inside.
Evening filled much of the space with shadows, but the area where the ceiling no longer provided coverage offered the tiniest hint of light. Crawling past the rubble, my gaze landed on a dark form at the base. Waves of red hair fanned out around it, and my heart lurched into my throat. “Annette!”
